Tag: Phil Jacobs

The arrival of Coach Jacobs and Coach Whittaker breathes new life into Dexter athletics

By Jimmy Fortuna-Peak

The beginning of the new football season brought two new faces to DHS, Head Coach Phil Jacobs and assistant coach Chris Whittaker, who took roles as coaches and DHS faculty members. Their initial goal was to rebuild the football program by getting the players in shape and making them physically stronger. Now, they’re expanding this weight room mentality to the rest of Dexter athletics.

While Jacobs and Whittaker are both primarily football coaches, their goal is to create better athletes throughout the school with the Iron Dread program. The four main factors are strength, speed, size, and weight. Both coaches noticed an overall lack in strength when they first arrived at the school.

Jacobs comes to DHS from Siena Heights University

By Joe Ramey

With no usurp needed, Dexter’s former varsity football coach Garrett Chapel (who held the job for 22 days), resigned, calling for a new search to begin and a new spot to be filled.

Within a month of his resignation, the spot has been filled and it been filled heftily. Phil Jacobs, a former varsity coach at Adrian High School and current outside linebackers coach at Siena Heights, was named head coach on Thursday.

Jacobs plans to make an appearance next week to talk to student athletes about his decision to move to Dexter as both a coach and a teacher.

“I feel very privileged to be the head football coach at one of the top school districts in the state,” Jacobs said in a statement. “I am very eager to begin work at Dexter as soon as possible, to spend time with our student-athletes, and to get to work. We will work hard to bring a brand of football that the Dexter community will be proud of.”

His philosophy is one of strength and integrity. Literally. His plan has always been to better a program in the weight room and ensure his team is the “strongest pound for pound” in whatever league they play in.

With a career record of 67-45, Jacobs intends on bringing a winning record from his previous positions to Dexter. His former position included a head coach position at Adrian with five SEC titles and two district titles under his belt. Along with his head coaching position at Adrian was his involvement in the Siena Heights program, most recently as an outside linebackers coach. Of his 25 years of coaching, 11 came at the collegiate level, garnering praise nationwide.

His name was recognized as one of the top 20 turn around coaches in the state and in 2010, and he was recognized as the National Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year by American Football Monthly.

“We promised our kids we would find a successful coach and teacher to lead the program,” Superintendent Chris Timmis said in a statement. “Phil Jacobs was at the top of our list. Not only is he an incredible coach, but he is also a gifted teacher and tremendous role model for our student-athletes. We could not be more excited to have Coach Jacobs leading the DHS football program and teaching our students.”